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Mrs Plenty's Carnival
"What can you find at Mrs Plenty's Most Distracting Carnival? Smoke and mirrors! Light and shade! Bright paint and squealing children and the roar of lions! And the music, as a great man once said, is like electric sugar." Mrs Plenty's Most Distracting Carnival, run by a wealthy lady by the name of Mrs Plenty, is a year-round fair held east of Spite. It features several notable attractions. The Big Top and the Sideshows Here, one may become acquainted with various factions of the city - and even, if one is fortunate, the Masters. The Refreshment Tent '' "What are Mrs Plenty's Rubbery Lumps? The question is not indelicate. The Lumps are a famous - perhaps notorious - delicacy sold in the Refreshment Pavilion at Mrs Plenty's Most Distracting Carnival. Deep-fried sea-monster, they say. They are to jellied eels what a war is to a fist-fight."'' A place to try hot wine, spore-toffee, and rubbery lumps, and perhaps recover from an injury or illness. The Games Tent Cards, chess, dice, lizard-throwing: try your luck! Maybe you'll win bats... or sapphires. Madame Shoshana '' "Who is Madame Shoshana? The Neath's most mystical fortune-teller. You can tell this by the number of silk scarves she wears, and the size of her crystal ball. She can be found in a stuffy little tent tucked away behind the Hall of Mirrors at Mrs Plenty’s. The secrets of the future can be yours! For a price."'' "Do you seek to know the future? Ask Madame Shoshana. The cards she uses are a little disturbing, but there's no doubting they get results. Just hope you don’t turn over the Blacksmith. Or the Boat. Or the Gibbet." "What's in the stars? Ask Madame Shoshana to cast your horoscope. We all know those aren’t stars in the roof of the Neath, but that’s no barrier to good honest superstition. Those born under the signs of the Bat and the Lantern are particularly lucky people. Be glad, too, that you weren’t born during the month of the Hunter. That wouldn’t be a good thing. No." Madame Shoshana specializes in tea leaves, palm-reading, tarot cards, and of course, scrying into her crystal ball. She may also give advice regarding romance, investigation, or art. As it turns out, however, fortune-telling is about as real as it is on the Surface. Most Educational Anatomy Exhibition A place for the rabble to learn about male, female, rubbery, and tomb-colonist anatomy. But it may just be a sham... Beneath the Neath '' "At MRS PLENTY'S CARNIVAL, ENJOY a DIVERTING EDUCATIONAL AND THRILLING RIDE into the CHASMIC ABYSMS of SUB-SUBTERRANEAN TROGLODYTRY! SEE the FOSSILS OF the ELDER PAST! ENJOY our PAINSTAKING RECREATION of the HELLS OF ANTIQUITY! (REFUNDS NOT AVAILABLE in case of UNWISE DEATH.)"'' Beneath the Neath is a ride that takes passengers, of course, into the deepest depths of the Neath. The lucky riders are able to overhear useful gossip, or even grab amber. The unlucky riders come out with bumps and bruises. The very unlucky ones die. The House of Mirrors '' "Who manages the House of Mirrors? Is it Mr Mirrors itself? Surely not. No Master would lower itself to become a carnival showman. But it is a sinister place. And it surely can't turn a profit."'' The House of Mirrors is indeed quite a sinister place. It might kill you, temporarily of course, or drive you insane. But its mirrors might also be a remedy for certain amoral qualities. Who is Mrs Plenty? "They says I 'asn't got an 'eart. They're wrong about that. I 'ate to see you chuckin' yer 'ole self away like this. But, more'n that, I got certain duties I can't get out of, even with wot Jervaise and 'Imself did fer me. You can take the gel out of the Mutton, but you can't take the Mutton out of the gel. Not all the way. So what about you? Why're you chasin' yer doom so 'ard?" Miriam Plenty is originally from Mutton Island, which is where she gets her charming accent. Apparently, some of the Carnival's attractions, such as the Rubbery Lumps, are derived from Mutton Island's traditions (Plenty's lumps are imitations per say). Despite her genteel, rather bohemian appearance, she used to be a Seeker of Mr Eaten's Name! Seekers trying to find a candle at midnight are treated to a warped version of her Carnival, where everything is...different, to say the least. Patrons who pay the exorbitant price for tickets may perform at the Big Top, converse with the Big Rat and other abominations, or perhaps watch a compelling chess match. It seems to be her job as a former Seeker to guide other Seekers to the Crossroads-Candle in the House of Mirrors, much to her dismay. She's been to the Iron Republic, but only once. Mrs Plenty campaigned for Mayor of London in 1897, under the slogan "A moment's peace!" Category:Places Category:London Category:Formatted